Traditional Factories Use 5G and Production Data to Support Digital Upgrading

Translated from the Chinese article dated 14 February 2024. The examples and forecasts below refer to the period covered by that report.

Using production data to identify energy savings

The article describes a company that completed a smart factory based on 5G and the industrial internet in the second half of 2023. Its industrial internet platform and energy management system analyse energy consumption across the site. The company uses this information to schedule production outside peak periods and identify opportunities to reduce energy use. At the time of the report, it expected to save approximately RMB 3.6 million in energy costs each year.

Hu Yongqing, head of the company's Party and administrative office, said smart-factory systems had reduced the burden of routine inspections and improved the accuracy of equipment-condition and fault assessments. Maintenance decisions that previously relied on experience could now draw on operating data, freeing staff for other work.

From demonstration projects to factory applications

The report describes 2023 as an important year for wider 5G adoption during China's 14th Five-Year Plan. It notes efforts within the province to develop practical applications, support industrial upgrading and accelerate enterprise digital transformation. A second group of provincial demonstration projects for 5G application scenarios was announced in December 2023.

AGVs connect warehousing and production

At a 5G smart factory in the Huicheng Huoshipo Speciality Food Industrial Park, automated guided vehicles (AGVs) issue spoken movement warnings and work alongside employees to place raw materials on warehouse racks according to material information.

Material handling previously depended on manual work. The AGVs now move goods to designated locations in response to instructions from production workshops, connecting warehouse operations with shop-floor material requirements.